This research was conducted in Afro-alpine vegetation of Abohoy Gara Mountain in northern Ethiopia with the aim of analyzing floristic composition along elevational gradients, threats and conservation methods. Data were collected from 53 quadrats (15 m x 15 m) laid at 100 m interval along parallel vertical transects spaced at 500m to each other to record shrubs and trees, whereas 1 m x 1 m plots were used to record herbs. Cover abundance data were used to do community analysis using R version 3.1.2 software. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed to determine significant level of species richness; abundance and Shannon diversity index along elevational gradient, whereas pearson’s correlation test was applied to check the relationship between environmental variables with species richness, species abundance and Shannon diversity index (H’) using SPSS v20. Ninety-seven plant species composed of 82 genera under 40 families were recorded. The mean number of plant species showed significant difference along elevational gradient (P < 0.05). Besides, significant (P < 0.05) negative correlation of elevation with the plant richness, abundance as well as Shannon diversity index had been observed. Based on dominant species, a total of five plant communities were identified. The maximum plant diversity occurred in community type III (3.79), whereas the least plant diversity occurred in community type IV and community type V. Vegetation cover and species composition of Abohoy Gara Mountain is being endangered by agricultural expansion, over grazing and logging of wood for construction material. Hence, it needs application of complementary on-site and offsite conservation approaches. This calls for further joint management of the Abohoy Gara Mountain by the local people and administrative bodies in the overall conservation actions that can save and rehabilitate the plant resources and their habitats.
Research Article
Floristic Composition, Diversity and Plant Community Along Elevational Gradients in the Afro-alpine Vegetation of Abohoy Gara Mountain, northern Ethiopia
https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-1198475/v1
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License
Version 1
posted 05 Jan, 2022
You are reading this latest preprint version
Afro-alpine
Abohoy Gara Mountain
elevational variation
plant community
In Ethiopia, climatic and topographical patterns produce various biotas that assist the plant and animal ecosystems (Friis et al 2010). For instance, elevational gradient has an influence on plant species diversity by making differences in climatic condition and soil variation (Lomolino 2001). Besides, plants in mountain area respond to little elevational differences (Kharkwal et al 2005). Studying diversity, plant community and distribution of the vegetation is a basis for designing and implementing sound management intervention plan and assembling plant distribution into an environmentally related ecosystem through clear criteria for identifying the categories (Don et al 2007; Han et al 2011). Mountainous ecosystems are vital for conservation of nature, typically in countries with small protected areas, because most of the ecosystems are centralized in such area (Zhang et al 2012).
The Ethiopian mountains offer various ecosystem services such as climate regulation, water purification and flood regulation (Kelbessa and Soromessa 2008; Bussman et al 2011). However, Afro-alpine ecosystem in Ethiopia is highly fragile due to anthropogenic factors such as an increase in human settlements, grazing, agricultural expansion and logging; and natural factors such as low temperature, harmful short wave radiations (Kelbessa et al 1992). Besides, 10,000 years ago, the uplands of the country were broadly covered with Afro-alpine moorlands and grasslands (Messerli et al 1977), but the large regions of this highlands was affected by human factors, and the extent of variation is frightening and risking the former species richness. Because of this, the previous afro-alpine and subafro-alpine ecosystems are currently nearly exclusively limited to scatter, and not easily accessible areas bounded by encroachments (EBI 2018). Therefore, such fragile environments need much more attention to stop further risk and rate of devastation. Besides, there is high gap of information concerning floristic compositions of the high mountains of Afro-alpine in Ethiopia (Hedberg 1964). For instance, many of Afroalpine studies are still concentrated on the Simien and Bale Mountains (Hedberg 1986). Moreover, except for the above mentioned and few some other authors, most of the investigations are limited to the montane ecosystem (EBI 2018).
Abohoy Gara Mountain is community based conservation area where grazing, cultivation and collection of natural resources are excluded. This Mountain is surrounded by natural features and has been designated so as to restore and maintain the biotic diversity. Nonetheless, the lower belt of this mountain is severely affected by human interference such as agricultural expansion, overgrazing and logging towards the ericaceous belt due to population pressure. Moreover, no study has been conducted in this mountain regarding the general vegetation ecology, threats and conservation status so far. Therefore, we lack information on the overall plant diversity and plant community along elevational gradient in the study area.
Thus, it is imperative to investigate species composition, elevational variation of vegetation composition, threats and conservation approaches that can be an input in developing sound management plan for future conservations and sustainable management. This is in turn, needs baseline study on the plant ecology and existing human impacts of the mountain. Hence, this study was conducted with the aim of investigating species diversity, elevational variation of vegetation composition, identifying plant communities, assessing threats and conservation approaches.
Study area
The study was conducted in the Abohoy Gara Mountain located at 12o03’ - 12o06’N, and 39o22’ - 39o24’E, elevation ranging from 3,000 – 4,000 m a.s.l, in the Amhara region of northern Ethiopia (Figure 1). It is roughly linked by narrow ridges with the other Afro-alpine mountain block of Abune Yosef Massive to the West. Although the high elevation plateau consists of silty soil, which has less water infiltration and low ground water recharge, infiltration is relatively better at the base of the mountain where farmlands occur (ESP 2001). Analysis of meteorological data (1997 -2017) showed that the mean annual temperature in the study area was 19 0C and the mean minimum and maximum were 11.80C and 27.50C respectively (Supplemental material 1) (National Metreology Agency, 2018). The mean annual rainfall is 758 mm which varied greatly from year to year.
Sampling methods
Preliminary survey was done during September, 2017 to get an impression on the overall physiognomy of the vegetation, accessibility to the site and distinguish sampling area. Consequently, with in 3462 m – 3914 m a.s.l mountain range, three sampling sites were selected based on aspect, vegetation cover and accessibility. We selected the sites purposively (based on aspect, cover and accessibility) and laid the plots systematically to get vegetation data (Muller-Dombois and Ellenberg 1974; Tiksa et al 2009). In each site (I–III) replicates of three line transects a total of nine were laid vertically along the elevation with 500m gap in between, starting at the highest elevation up to the lowest elevation point where farm lands are encountered.. Fifty three plots having a size of 15 m x 15 m were laid out (Fetene et al 2006) along the line transects at 100 m elevation intervals to collect data on plant species, while herbaceous species were measured in cover abundance value using 1 m x 1 m subplot inside the main plot at five places, four plots were placed at each corner and one at centre (Wodaj et al 2016). In each plot; herbs, shrubs and trees were documented. Cover abundance values of each species were assessed visually in the field and then changed into 1-9 modified Braun Blanquet following (van der Maarel 1979). Identification was done in the field and herbarium using taxonomic literature, by comparing with authentic specimens, expert assistance, and using various book of flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea while those unknown samples were identified in the National Herbarium, Addis Ababa. Environmental data such as elevation, slope and aspect were determined for every releve selected. GPS was used to measure elevation, clinometer was employed to measure slope, and Silva ranger compass was used to determine aspect.
Sampling technique for threats and conservation methods
Three kebeles; Wondanch, Kemeha and Tuba surrounding Abohoy Gara Mountain were selected following purposive sampling method. The selection of these study kebeles was influenced by the fact that they had better vegetation cover, near to the mountain. Informants were selected systematically with the assistance of local officers and local people from the district that are found within or bordering the Abohoy Gara Mountain (Martin 1995; Balemie et al 2004). A total of 177 informants were chosen following the method described by Cochran’s formula as indicated in Bartlett and Higgins (Bartlett and Higgins 2001) as follows;
where n is sample size the research uses, N is total number of households in the kebeles, e refers to maximum variability or margin of error 5% (.05), 1 is the probability of the event occurring. Semi-structured interviews were prepared and used as guide based on the checklist of questions prepared previously in English language and then interpreted into Amharic (Martin 1995; Cotton 1996; Cunningham 2001). Besides, focus group discussions were also employed with the knowledgeable informants in the study area. Threats and major problems, recommendation of local people to conserve the resource of the mountain were points of the interview and group discussion.
Analysis
Agglomerative hierarchical classification using cluster analysis was performed using R packages cluster, mgcv and ggplot2 (R Development Core Team 2014) to categorise the vegetation into community types based on cover-abundance (following 1-9 Modified Braun- Blanquet, as revised by (van der Maarel 1979) of each species. Shannon-Wiener and Shannon’s evenness (Krebs 1989; Barnes et al 1998) were computed using R version 3.1.2 software to describe the community diversity.
Shannon diversity index
Diversity index was calculated (Shannon-Wiener and Weater 1949) by using the following formula:
Evenness
Evenness index (E) was computed to measure the homogeneous distribution of plant species (Kent and Coker 1992).
ANOVA was computed to determine significant differences of the number of plant species along elevational gradient whereas pearson’s correlation test was applied to check the correlation of environmental variables with species richness, species abundance and Shannon diversity index. ANOVA and Pearson’s product moment correlation coefficients were determined using the SPSS v20.
Floristic similarities
Floristic comparison was made with in the communities of the study area to get information on floristic similarity between the communities. The floristic similarities between communities were determined using Sorensen’s Coefficient Index (Greig-Smith 1983; Kent and Coker 1992).
Where Ss is Sorensen’s similarity, a= number of species common to the two samples, b= the number of species present in sample1 and c= the number of species in sample 2 (Kent and Coker 1992).
A total of 97 plant species composed of 82 genera under 40 families were recorded from Abohoy Gara Mountain (Supplemental material 2). The number of plant species documented was higher than similar alpine mountains in Ethiopia, Guassa Community Conservation Area (n=82) (Wodaj et al 2016), Guna Mountain (n=56) (Molla 2004), Sanettie plateau in Bale Mountains (n=65) (Gashaw and Fetene 1996) and Simien Mountain (n=86) (Melese et al 2017). Out of the total species recorded, 85 (87.63%) were herbs, Nine (9.28%) shrubs and three (3.09%) tree. The highest number of plant habit recorded was herbs, this finding is in line with the result of Afro-alpine vegetation of Guassa Community Conservation Area (Wodaj et al 2016). Asteraceae was the dominant plant families represented by 15 (18%) genera and 21 (21.6%) species followed by Poaceae composed of seven (8.53) genera and eight (8.24%) species (Supplemental material 3). The occurrence of greater number of plants species from family Asteraceae might relate to the adaptation potential of the species under this family in a wider range of elevation in the study area. This finding is also in line with the results of (Wodaj et al 2016) in that Asteraceae was the highest family recorded.
Records of endemic plants
We recorded 16 (16.5%) plant species belonging to 14 genera under nine families endemic to Ethiopia (Supplemental material 2). Our record of endemic plants was higher than the endemic plants recorded from Guassa community conservation area (Wodaj et al 2016). Family Asteraceae contributed seven endemic plant species, Poaceae contributed two endemic plant species and six other families contributed just one endemic plant species (Supplemental material 3). It should be stressed that, two near threatened, one vulnerable and one least concern endemic plant species were found in the IUCN Red list categories (Vivero at al 2006). Becium grandiflorum and Inula confertiflora were near threatened, Euryops pinifolius was vulnerable and Solanecio gigas was least concern (Vivero at al 2006) (Supplemental material 2). The reason for mountain ecosystems often possessing several endemic plant species is due to alpine ecosystems make island biota and the high mountain plateau protrude as isolated temperate islands above the hot nearby plains (Beniston 2006).
Plant community along elevational gradient
We identified five plant communities for the vegetation of Abohoy Gara Mountain from the output of Agglomerative Hierarchical Classification (Figure 2). The names for each community were given based on two species of a cluster that have the highest synoptic value (Table 1). The number of community identified for Abohoy Gara Mountain was higher than for Choke Mountain range (n=3) (Belachew 2015) and Simien Mountain (n=3) (Melese at al 2017).
I. Festuca abyssinica - Thymus schimperi community
This herbaceous community consisting of 14 plots and 50 species was situated at elevational range of 3529 – 3813 m a.s.l (Table 2). F. abyssinica and T. schimperi were the dominant plant species of the community. Others, such as Festuca macrophyla, Alchemilla abyssinica and Arabis alpina were also present in this community. Achyranthes aspera , Plantago lanceolata and Plantago palmata were the species recorded only in this community.
II. Erica arborea- Hypericum revolutum community
This community structure consisting of 10 plots and 42 species was distributed at elevations above sea level 3569 – 3697 m (Table 2). E. arborea and H. revolutum were the dominant plant species of the community. Most frequently, a mass of moss species (Neckera platyantha) grew on the ground and under the Erica shrub species (Supplemental material 2). This community occurred predominantly in swampy areas. Elevational distribution of E. arborea in this community is comparable to that of Choke Mountain (3450 – 3814 m a.s.l) (Belachew 2015).
III. Alchemilla abyssinica - Koeleria pyramidata community
This community structure consisting of 13 plots and 73 species was situated at elevational range between 3507 – 3657 m a.s.l (Table 2). It was found to cover the largest area of the Afro-alpine vegetation of the study area with large number of plant species. A. abyssinica and K. pyramidata were the dominant plant species of this community. Species such as Crotalaria karagwensis and Cyperus reduncus, Primula verticillata, Senra incana and Spergula arvensis were character species in that they were found particularly in this community.
IV. Euryops pinifolius - Cyathula cylindrical community
This community structure consisting of 10 plots and 27 species was distributed at elevational range between 3462 – 3914 m a.s.l (Table 2). E. pinifolius and C. cylindrical were the dominant plant species of the community. C. cylindrica is most dominantly found in the upper hill of the mountain from 3700 - 3914 m where there is lack of moisture and sloppy ground while E. pinifolius were most dominantly distributed at the lower and middle elevation and it becomes sparse at the higher elevation.
V. Lobelia rhynchopetalum - Kniphofia foliosa community
This community structure consisting of 6 plots and 38 species was distributed at elevational range between 3570 - 3657 m a.s.l (Table 2). L. rhynchopetalum and K. foliosa were the dominant plant species. This community has a small number of plots and species compared to the other communities. Helichrysum formosissimum and I. confertiflora were character species recorded only in this community type. In this community type there is very low temperature where during morning water stream is changed into ice.
Diversity measures
The alpha diversity indices across elevations showed that species richness and evenness were maximum in the mid elevation (community III) and tend to decrease gradually toward the high and lower elevations (Table 2). However, they failed to show an obvious U-shaped curve typical of the ‘mid- elevation bulge theory’ predicting a higher species diversity at mid-elevations. However, the variations in species diversity (H) were not strongly obvious; this could be due to related environmental factor such as elevation, slope and aspect.
Similarities between community types
Sorenson’s similarity between community showed that community type I and III showed the highest plant species similarity (0.72) whereas community type III and IV showed the least plant species similarity (The highest dissimilarity) (0.524) (Table 3). The maximum similarity between community I and III could be due their related elevational range of the two communities (Table 2).
Influence of elevation, slope and aspect on species richness
Species richness was negatively correlated with elevation, and their correlation was significant (r = -0.471, P < 0.05) (Figure 3a). Besides, significant difference (P < 0.05) was occurred in the mean number of species richness along elevational gradient. The mean value of species richness for upper elevation (3703-3900m) was 13.88, for the middle elevation (3620-3697m) was 17.47, and for the lowest elevation (3462-3605m) was (21.79), indicating that as elevation increases, species richness gets lower in the study area. Similar result was reported from Abune Yosef Mountain (Gebrehiwot et al 2019) and Arsi Mountain (Girma et al 2018). Number of species was negatively correlated with slope however their correlation was insignificant (r = -0.156, P > 0.05) (Figure 3b). This finding is in line with the report of Wondo Genet Forest (Kebede et al 2013). Slope affects the run-off and drainage through that way also influences the nutrient, depth and water content of the soil (Albaba 2004; Soromessa et al 2004). The species distribution in some sample plots of community II of the Abohoy Gara Mountain was high. Such finding can be attached to the effect of aspect and slope. By affecting the day-to-day cycle of lunar radiation, aspect influences humidity, soil moisture and air temperature of the environment (Rosenberg et al 1983). These factors might relate with distribution of the species in some sample plots of community II of study area. There was weak insignificant positive correlation between aspect and number of species (r = 0.137, P > 0.05) (Figure 4). This finding is in line with result reported from Yunmeng Mountain, China (Zhang and Shao 2015).
Shannon diversity index was negatively correlated with elevation, and their correlation was significant (r = -0.322, P < 0.05) (Figure 5A). Similarly, negative correlation between elevation and Shannon diversity index were reported in the Afro-alpine vegetation of Sanettie plateau of the Bale Mountain (Gashaw and Fetene 1996) and Abune yosef Mountain (Gebrehiwot et al 2019). Likewise, significant negative correlation (r = -0.272, P < 0.05) was occurred between elevation and species cover abundance (Figure 5B). This finding is in agreement with the report of Wondo Genet forest (Kebede et al 2013). Overall, species richness, species abundance and Shannon’s diversity get lower as elevation increases in the study area. This could be due to total atmospheric pressure, temperature and air density decrease with increasing elevation while wind velocity, radiation and precipitation increase with increasing elevation (Barry 2008).
Threats to plant resources in Abohoy Gara Mountain
According to the respondents, the highest reported threat for the plant resource in Abohoy Gara Mountain was over grazing (52), logging for construction materials (33) and agricultural expansion (22) (Table 4). Similar findings were reported elsewhere in the country (Kelbessa et al 1992; Chanie and Tesfaye, 2015; Tadesse and Teketay, 2017) in that factors such as over grazing, agricultural expansion, collection of wood for construction pose a great impact on the countries’ plant resource.
Recommended methods to conserve plant resources
The highest cited conservation approach mentioned by informants was protecting plants from livestock damage which accounted for 73 (32.6%) followed by protecting in homegarden 46 (20.54%). Furthermore, fencing 43 (19.2%) was cited to be used as a means of conserving plant resource (Supplemental material 4). Sustainable landscape use, including good rangeland management (removing livestock from stressed areas), and forest management should be maintained in Abohoy Gara Mountain so as to reduce poverty and improve ecosystem services. Species listed under IUCN Red list categories such as B. grandiflorum, I. confertiflora, E. pinifolius, S. gigas and endemic species should be prioritized for conservation. Hence, both on-site and off-site conservation is needed, particularly on-site conservation is necessary for endemic species.
The remnant Afro-alpine vegetation of Abohoy Gara Mountain is uniquely positioned and contains a substantial amount of Afro-alpine plant species and diversity. Conserving the plant resource of this mountain is important to protect the shelter for many species. Overall, 97 plant species were identified in the study area. Of these, 16.5% were endemic to Ethiopia. The Afro-alpine vegetation of Abohoy Gara Mountain was classified into five vegetation community types. Although Abohoy Gara Mountain consists of such vital endemic plant species, it is now under pressure due to human encroachment, overgrazing, agricultural expansion and logging for construction material. Hence, community-based conservation programs, awareness creation, sustainable uses of the remnant natural vegetation, biological and physical management are crucial. The high plant diversity together with the presence of endemic plant species calls for rapid conservation plans with the involvement of local communities and government so as to restore and rehabilitate the ecosystem.
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Ethics approval and consent to participate
Prior to data collection, agreements indicating consent were taken from Mekelle University and Zonal and District Administration Offices.
Consent for publication
Not applicable.
Availability of data and materials
All data collected for this study were analysed, interpreted, and included in this manuscript, and its supplementary materials were attached as supplementary material 1, 2 and 3.
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Funding
Not applicable.
- Albaba I (2004) The effects of slope orientations on vegetation characteristics of Wadi Alquf Forest Reserve, West Bank-Palestine. International Journal of Agricultural and Soil Science 2(7):118–125
- Balemie K, Kelbessa E, Asfaw Z (2004) Indigenous medicinal plant utilization, management and threats in Fentalle area, eastern Shewa, Ethiopia. Ethiopian Journal of Biological Sciences 3(1):37–58
- Barnes B, Zak D, Denton S, Spurr S (1998) Forest Ecology. 4th edition. New York, USA: Wiley
- Barry R (2008) Mountain Weather and Climate. 3rd edition. Cambridge, USA: Cambridge University Press. Pp. 506
- Bartlett J, Higgins C (2001) Organizational research: Determining appropriate sample size for survey research. Journal of Information Technology, Learning, and Performance 19(1):43–50
- Belachew G (2015) Ecological Study of the Vegetation in Choke-Koso Ber Mountain Range, Northwest Ethiopia. [PhD thesis dissertation]. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Addis Ababa University
- Beniston M (2006) Mountain weather and climate: a general overview and a focus on climatic change in the Alps. Hydrobiologia 562(1):3–16
- Bussman RW, Swartzinski P, Worede A, Evangelista P (2011) Plant use and disease perception in Odo-Bulu and Demaro, Bale Region, Ethiopia. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed 7:28–49
- Chanie S, Tesfaye D (2015) Threats of biodiversity conservation and ecotourism activities in Nechsar National Park, Ethiopia. International Journal of Biodiversity and Conservation 7(2):130–139
- Cotton C (1996) Ethnobotany: principles and applications(No. Sirsi) i9780471955375). New York
- Cunningham A (2001) Applied Ethnobotany: People, Wild Plant Use and Conservation. Earthscan Ltd, London
- Don L, Norm A, Kevin H, Michael SL, Drak J (2007) Vegetation classification, mapping, and monitoring at Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota: an application of the US National Vegetation Classification. Appl Veg Sci 10(3):361–374
- EBI [Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute] (2018) Afroalpine and Sub-Afroalpine Ecosystem. https://www.ebi.gov.et/workshop-on-evaluation-and-implementation-of-ethiopian-national-strategy-and-action-plan-for-conservation-and-sustainable-utilization-of-animal-genetic-resource-conducts/
- ESP [Environmental protection Department] (2001) The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Ministry of Agriculture. The resources of North Wollo Zone, Addis Ababa
- FEE [Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea]. 1989–2009. Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea. Volumes 1–9. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: National Herbarium; and Uppsala, Sweden: Department of Systematic Botany
- Fetene M, Asefa Y, Gashaw M, Woldu Z, Beck E (2006) Diversity of afroalpine vegetation and ecology of treeline species in the Bale Mountains, Ethiopia, and the influence of fire.Land use change and mountain biodiversity25–38
- Friis I, Demissew S, van Bruegel P (2010) Atlas of the Potential Vegetation of Ethiopia. Royal Danish Academy of Science and Letters, Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Gashaw M, Fetene M (1996) Plant communities of the Afroalpine vegetation of the Sanetti Plateau, Bale Mountains, Ethiopia. SINET: Ethiopian Journal of Science 19(1):65–86
- Gebrehiwot K, Demissew S, Woldu Z, Fekadu M, Desalegn T, Teferi E (2019) Elevational changes in vascular plants richness, diversity, and distribution pattern in Abune Yosef mountain range, northern Ethiopia. Plant Diversity 41:220–228
- Girma Z, George C, Paul E, Mamo Y (2018) Vascular Plant Species Composition, Relative Abundance, Distribution, and Threats in Arsi Mountains National Park, Ethiopia. Mt Res Dev 38(2):143–152
- Greig-Smith P (1983) Quantitative Plant Ecology. 3rd edition. Butterworth, London
- Han H, Jang K, Song J, Seol A, Chung W, Chung J (2011) The effects of site factors on herb species diversity in Kwangneung forest stands. Forest Science and Technology 7(1):1–7
- Hedberg O (1964) Features of afro-alpine plant ecology. Acta Phytogeographica Suecica 49:1–144
- Hedberg O (1986) The afroalpine flora of Ethiopia. SINET 9:105–110
- Kebede M, Yirdaw E, Luukkanen O, Lemenih M (2013) Plant community analysis and effect of environmental factors on the diversity of woody species in the moist Afromontane forest of Wondo Genet, South Central Ethiopia. Biodiversity Resource Conservation 29:63–80
- Kelbessa E, Demissew S, Woldu Z, Edwards S (1992) Some threatened Endemic Plants of Ethiopia. In: Edwards S. and Asfaw Z, editors. The Status of Some Plants in Parts of Tropical Africa, Botany 2000. NAPREC, Monograph.Ethiopia pp 2:35–55
- Kelbessa E, Soromessa T (2008) Interfaces of regeneration, structure, diversity and use of some plant species in Bonga forest: A reservoir for wild coffee gene pool. SINET: Ethiopian Journal of Science 31:121–134
- Kent M, Coker P (1992) Vegetation Description and Analysis: A practical approach. John Wiley and Sons Ltd. Pp, New York, p 363
- Kharkwal G, Mehrota P, Rawat Y (2005) Distribution of plant life forms along an altitudinal gradient in the Central Himalayan region of India. Curr Sci 89(5):873878
- Krebs C (1989) Ecological Methodology. Harper and Row Cop, New York
- Lomolino M (2001) Elevation gradients of species-density: historical and prospective views. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 10(1):3–13
- Martin GJ (1995) Ethnobotany: a Methods Manual. Chapman and Hall, London, United Kingdom, p 268
- Melese G, Tsegay B, Kassa G (2017) Effects of environmental variables on the patterns of plant community distribution in the Afroalpine vegetation of Simien Mountains National Park, Ethiopia. Journal of Biotechnology International 10(1):8–21
- Messerli B, Hurni H, Kienholz H, Winiger M (1977) Bale Mountains: Largest Pleistocene mountain glacier system of Ethiopia. INQUA Abstracts. Birmingham, England
- Molla M (2004) Ecological Investigation on the Afroalpine Vegetation of Guna Mountain, South Gondar. [MSc thesis]. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Addis Ababa University
- Muller-Dombois EH (1974) Aims and methods of vegetation ecology. John Willey and Sons, Inc., U.S.A, p 547
- R Development Core Team (2014) R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. A Programming Environment for Data Analysis and Graphics. Version 3.1.2. Vienna, Austria. ISBN3-900051-07-0,URL http://www.R-project.org
- Rosenberg N, Blad B, Verma S (1983) Microclimate: The Biological Environment. 2nd edition. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Pp. 994
- Shannon-Wiener C, Weater W (1949) The Mathematical Theory of Communication. University of Illinois Press, Urbana, EUA
- Soromessa T, Teketay D, Demissew S (2004) Ecological study of the vegetation in Gamo Gofa zone, southern Ethiopia. Tropical Ecology 45(2):209–222
- Tadesse SA, Teketay D (2017) Perceptions and attitudes of local people towards participatory forest management in Tarmaber District of North Shewa Administrative Zone, Ethiopia: the case of Wof-Washa Forests. Ecological Processes 6:17
- Tiksa M, Bekele T, Kelbessa E (2009) Plant community distribution and variation along the Awash river corridor in the main Ethiopian rift valley. Afr J Ecol 48(1):21–28
- van der Maarel E (1979) Transformation of cover/abundance values in phytosociology and its effect on community similarity. Vegetatio 39:97–114
- Vivero JL, Kelbessa E, Demissew S (2006) Progress on the red list of plants of Ethiopia and Eritrea: Conservation and biogeography of endemic flowering taxa. In: Ghazanfar SA, Beentje HJ, editors. Taxonomy and Ecology of African Plants, Their Conservation and Sustainable Use. Proceedings of the 17th AETFAT [Association for the Taxonomic Study of the Flora of Tropical Africa] Congress, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Kew, United Kingdom: Kew Publishing, pp 761–778
- Wodaj H, Kelbessa E, Woldu Z (2016) Floristic composition and herbaceous aboveground dry weight biomass of Afroalpine vegetation in Guassa Community Conservation Area, North Shewa, Ethiopia. International Research Journal of Biological Sciences 5(1):26–36
- Woldu Z, Feoli E, Nigatu L (1989) Partitioning an elevational gradient of vegetation from southeastern Ethiopia by probabilistic methods. Vegetatio 81:189–198
- Zhang JT, Xiang CL, Li M (2012) Effects of tourism and topography on vegetation diversity in the subalpine meadows of the Dongling Mountains of Beijing, China. Environ Manage 49:403–411
- Zhang J, Shao D (2015) Attributes of forest diversity in the Yunmeng mountain national forest park in Beijing, China. Appl Ecol Environ Res 13(3):769–782
Table 1 Synoptic cover abundance value for species having a value of ≥ 1 in at least one community type.
|
Species name/community type |
C-1 |
C-2 |
C-3 |
C-4 |
C-5 |
|
Number of plots |
14 |
10 |
13 |
10 |
6 |
|
Festuca abyssinica |
6.0 |
0.9 |
5.51 |
1.1 |
1.2 |
|
Thymus schimperi |
5.4 |
0.8 |
4.23 |
2.5 |
1.8 |
|
Festuca macrophyla |
3.7 |
0.5 |
0.24 |
0.1 |
0.2 |
|
Avena abyssinica |
1.3 |
0.3 |
0.41 |
0.2 |
0.0 |
|
Achyranthes aspera |
1.2 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
|
Arabis alpine |
1.0 |
0.4 |
0.4 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
|
Eulophia albobrunnea |
1.0 |
0.0 |
0.6 |
0.2 |
0.0 |
|
Erica arborea |
3.1 |
8.6 |
1.7 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
|
Hypericum revolutum |
0.4 |
5.7 |
0.7 |
0.0 |
0.2 |
|
Usnea sp. |
0.1 |
3.2 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
|
Senecio fresenii |
0.0 |
2.1 |
0.12 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
|
Haplocarpha schimperi |
0.22 |
1.0 |
0.4 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
|
Koeleria pyramidata |
3.1 |
4.3 |
6.3 |
0.3 |
1.22 |
|
Alchemilla abyssinica |
3.0 |
6 |
7.85 |
1 |
7.1 |
|
Hydrocotyle sibthorpioides |
2.0 |
1.4 |
6.23 |
1 |
1.4 |
|
Cynoglossum coeruleum |
2.0 |
0.2 |
4.3 |
0.3 |
0.4 |
|
Thymus serrulatus |
1.0 |
0.6 |
3.7 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
|
Rumex nepalensis |
0.1 |
0.1 |
3.31 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
|
Commelina latifolia |
0.3 |
0.6 |
2.8 |
2 |
0.4 |
|
Euryops pinifolius |
7.0 |
4.7 |
7.5 |
7.6 |
2.4 |
|
Cyathula cylindrica |
4.3 |
0.7 |
0.3 |
4.4 |
0.78 |
|
Pentaschistis pictigluma |
0.36 |
0.1 |
0.23 |
2.5 |
0 |
|
Dicrocephala chrysanthemifolia |
2.0 |
0.9 |
0.1 |
2.4 |
0.3 |
|
Lobelia rhynchopetalum |
0.8 |
0.5 |
0.44 |
0.31 |
8.30 |
|
Kniphofia foliosa |
0.6 |
4 |
5.6 |
5.7 |
7.8 |
|
Leonotis neptitolia |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.23 |
0.0 |
1.8 |
|
Urtica simensis |
0.1 |
0.0 |
4 |
0.4 |
1.8 |
|
Malva parviflora |
0.07 |
0.0 |
0.5 |
0.0 |
1.3 |
|
Peucedanum winkleri |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
1.3 |
|
Inula confertiflora |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
1 |
|
Maesa lanceolata |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.06 |
0.0 |
1 |
|
Neckera platyantha |
0.04 |
0.1 |
0.7 |
0.21 |
1.0 |
Table 2 Species diversity indices estimates for Afro-alpine vegetation of Abohoy Gara Mountain.
|
Community |
Altitudinal range (m a.s.l) |
Species richness (S) |
Shannon's diversity index (H) |
Species Evenness (E) |
No. of plots |
|
I: F. abyssinica - T. schimperi |
3529-3813 |
50 |
3.75 |
0.7019 |
14 |
|
II: E. arborea - H. revolutum |
3569-3697 |
42 |
3.6 |
0.7573 |
10 |
|
III: A. abyssinica - K. pyramidata |
3507-3657 |
73 |
3.79 |
0.8534 |
13 |
|
IV: E. pinifolius - C. cylindrica |
3462-3914 |
27 |
3.62 |
0.8155 |
10 |
|
V: L. rhynchopetalum - K. foliosa |
3570-3657 |
38 |
3.5 |
0.706 |
6 |
Table 3 Sorenson’s similarity and dissimilarity among communities in the study area.
|
Similarity |
Community |
Dissimilarity |
Dissimilarity |
||||
|
I |
II |
III |
IV |
V |
|||
|
I |
1 |
0.327 |
0.28 |
0.429 |
0.416 |
||
|
II |
0.673 |
1 |
0.402 |
0.36 |
0.472 |
||
|
III |
0.72* |
0.598 |
1 |
0.476 |
0.358 |
||
|
IV |
0.571 |
0.64 |
0.524* |
1 |
0.35 |
||
|
V |
0.584 |
0.525 |
0.642 |
0.65 |
1 |
||
|
Similarity |
|||||||
Table 4 Threats to vegetation resource in the study area.
|
Threats |
No of informants response |
|
Overgrazing |
52 |
|
Drought |
51 |
|
Agricultural expansion |
33 |
|
Construction materials |
22 |